By: Staff
Roadrunner Records’ Within Temptation has announced that new album, The Unforgiving, will be released in the US on March 29, 2011. This is Within Temptation’s second studio album for Roadrunner, the first since The Heart Of Everything was released in 2007.
Listen to new single “Faster” – http://www.within-temptation.com/headlines/new-single-faster/
See “Mother Maiden” short film – http://www.within-temptation.com/headlines/faster-mother-maiden-short-film/
The Unforgiving will be released in the following formats:
1. Standard edition with full color 12-page booklet.
2. CD/DVD Special edition in a digipak with expanded artwork, fold-out poster featuring personal credits of fans who participated in a recent Facebook campaign and DVD featuring over 3 short films, music videos and more.
Tracklisting:
1. Why Not Me
2. Shot In The Dark
3. In The Middle Of The Night
4. Faster
5. Fire And Ice
6. Iron
7. Where Is The Edge
8. Sinéad
9. Lost
10. Murder
11. A Demon’s Fate
12. Stairway To The Skies
Within Temptation are not just one of the most distinctive and charismatic bands to emerge from the metal scene in recent times, but also one of European metal’s greatest success stories of the last decade. Formed in 1996 by guitarist Robert Westerholt and vocalist Sharon den Adel, the Dutch outfit set out to create music that would strike a sublime balance between the bold, evocative sweep of cinema soundtracks and the brooding, gothic splendor of the finest dark-hued rock and contemporary metal.
The band’s brand new album, The Unforgiving, marks a radical change in terms of musical direction and imagery, as Westerholt explains, “Our first feeling was that we just couldn’t do the same things again. What we’ve been doing for all these years is trying to create our own sound. On our last album, The Heart Of Everything, we achieved our goal. For us, it’s the perfect album in that style. So the mission was over and now we had to do something new and free ourselves from any rules.”
A dazzling tour-de-force of hard rock, gleaming pop melodies, and powerful razor-sharp arrangements, The Unforgiving is quite unlike any previous Within Temptation album. Every one of its 12 tracks boasts a huge, instantly memorable melody, and yet there is enormous diversity and versatility on display, as the band moves skillfully from the instant thrills of the anthemic “Shot In The Dark”, the blissfully metallic “In The Middle Of The Night” and the soaring menace of “Faster” (the first radio single) through to the epic bombast of “Iron”, the exhilarating drama of “Where Is The Edge” and the irresistible disco thump of “Sinéad.” This is the sound of a great band exploring every facet of their music, reveling in the multi-layered and consistently fascinating outcome of their work.
In keeping with their fresh musical outlook, Within Temptation has also moved purposefully away from the windswept fantasies of previous albums. The Unforgiving is not just an album: it is also a comic book and a series of extended video clips that all form a dark and compelling tale of life, love, revenge, rage and regret. Based around a concept devised by American writer Stephen O’Connell (BloodRayne/Dark 48) and its coordinating graphic novella, illustrated by comic book artist Romano Molenaar (Witchblade/Darkness/X-Men), The Unforgiving’s 12 songs each represent the perspective of one of the story’s principal characters.
“We didn’t want to make a traditional concept album where you just make up a story and write lyrics to tell the tale,” explains Westerholt. “What we’ve always done in the past when we read a book or saw a movie, is that it inspires us to write a lyric or a song, and that’s how we wanted to approach this. We have 12 soundtracks for one story.”
At its heart, The Unforgiving is about life‘s endless choices and second chances, the very same idea that has helped the band maintain a remarkable, decade-long international career. The band has sold more than 3 million albums and DVDs world-wide, has attained Platinum status in The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, and Gold status in Spain, Finland, Belgium, Germany, Luxemburg, Portugal, and Russia.
Within Temptation has won a host of international awards, including a World Music Award, Golden God Award, and an MTV Europe Music Award. Numerous sold-out headline tours have seen Within Temptation through performances at major festivals like Loud Park (JP), Download (UK), Pinkpop (NL), Lowlands (NL), Rock Werchter (BE), Rock Am Ring (DE), Bilboa BBK Live (SP), Sweden Rock (SW), Ruisrock (FI), Aerodrome (AT), Gurtenfest (CH), Roskilde (DK) and many more. www.within-temptation.com
